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Transocean Profit Down 49% on Higher Costs

Transocean Ltd. ‘s fourth-quarter profit fell 49% as the offshore oil driller reported higher costs and a decline in fleet utilization. The quarterly results are the first since Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, in November detailed a plan to put some of its drilling rigs into a master limited partnership and take it public. The move was aimed to placate activist investor Carl Icahn , but also embraces a trend in the energy sector as other companies move to unload pipelines, refineries and drilling rigs into such partnerships, which don’t pay corporate income taxes and pay out most of their cash flow to investors in the form of distributions like a dividend. In the latest quarter, Transocean reported a profit of $233 million, or 64 cents a share, down from $456 million, or $1.26 a share, a year earlier. Excluding impairments, tax benefits and other items, adjusted […]

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When Will Peak Oil Actually Arrive? Costs Way Too High and Rising

World Yearly When will Peak Oil actually arrive? There has been considerable debate on that point recently. Well if you are talking about “Conventional Crude Oil” it arrived in 2005. But in many cases unconventional crude oil works just as well so I think we must count that. I will comment on that at the end of this post below. The chart below is kb/d with the last data point, 2013, is the average through October. Averaging the first 10 months of 2013, World oil production was up only 66,000 barrels per day. And without the US LTO input, world production would have been down 807,000 barrels per day, lower than the 2005 level. And it is all about LTO, primarily it is about three oil plays, the Bakken, Eagle Ford and the Permia. The data for this chart was taken from the EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report . The […]

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Oil Futures Extend Losses, Brent Below $110

Crude-oil futures were choppy but trended lower in Asian trade Wednesday on expectations of U.S. oil stockpiles rising for the sixth consecutive week and some profit-taking. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $101.62 a barrel at 0538 GMT, down $0.21 in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.23 to $109.28 a barrel. U.S. crude-oil inventories rose by 800,000 barrels in the week ended Feb. 21, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said late Tuesday. The closely-watched survey from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later Wednesday. Ten analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal on average estimate that oil stocks rose by 800,000 barrels last week. Oil markets are focusing on the overall build up in U.S. oil stockpiles as refineries shut for maintenance, and not just the debottlenecking of […]

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WTI Crude Trades Near Week Low on U.S. Stockpiles

West Texas Intermediate traded near the lowest price in more than a week before a government report forecast to show U.S. crude stockpiles gained for a sixth week in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was stable in London. Futures were little changed in New York after losing 1 percent yesterday, the most since Feb. 3. Crude inventories probably rose by 1.275 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts before Energy Information Administration data today. Prices have climbed more than 4 percent this month, reaching as high as $103.80 a barrel, as colder weather boosted energy demand and supplies declined at Cushing, Oklahoma , the largest U.S. oil-storage hub. “If there’s an increase in U.S. crude inventories, that could certainly have an impact on prices,” said Hans van Cleef, an energy economist at ABN Amro Bank NV in Amsterdam. “Every time WTI touches levels […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Fell 17% Over 2 Days

;Natural-gas prices fell 17% since Monday, the largest two-day drop in the market more than six years, as investors continued to take profits from last week’s rally. Futures for March delivery settled down 34.9 cents, or 6.4%, at $5.096 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. "The downward move started a chain reaction as long traders quickly exited their positions while they were still profitable," consultancy Gelber & Associates said in a note. "The slide came in direct contrast to the latest weather reports." The March contract expires Wednesday, and options on the contract expired with the end of trading Tuesday. Most of the trading volume in the market is moving into the April and May contracts. Natural gas for April delivery ended 1.5% higher at $4.4691/mmBtu. Analysts and forecasters said the underlying dynamics that have driven this year’s rally in natural-gas prices are […]

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Despite Shale, Middle East Remains Key to Oil Demand

The US shale revolution has helped reshape the global energy market, but Middle Eastern oil will remain vital for meeting future Asian energy demand, said IEA’s Fatih Birol. The U.S. shale revolution has helped reshape the global energy market, but Middle Eastern oil will remain vital for meeting future Asian energy demand, Fatih Birol, chief economist for the International Energy Agency (IEA), told attendees Feb. 21 at an event at Rice University in Houston. The significant growth that has occurred in recent years in U.S. unconventional oil production surpassed initial estimates by the IEA, which initially forecast that the United States would overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer in 2017. This shift is now expected to occur next year, according IEA’s 2013 World Energy Outlook. Despite this growth, Middle East oil will still be needed to meet global oil demand in Asia, said […]

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Hezbollah says Israel bombed its positions

Hezbollah says Israel carried out an airstrike targeting its positions in Lebanon near the border with Syria earlier this week, claiming it caused damage but no casualties. The Wednesday statement was the group’s first acknowledgement of the reported Monday night airstrikes. Hezbollah said the attack was near the eastern Lebanese village of Janta. It vowed to retaliate but said it will "choose the appropriate time and place." Lebanon’s state news agency has reported that Israeli aircraft carried out the strikes. Israel has refused to confirm them. Hezbollah, allied to President Bashar Assad in Syria, has been fighting alongside his troops in areas near the border. This was the first reported Israeli airstrike inside Lebanese territory since the start of Syria’s conflict three years ago. Israel has fired artillery across the border. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be […]

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China's overall crude imports in January 2014 rose 12% year on year to a record 28.15 million mt, or 6.66 million b/d, according to preliminary customs data that was released on February 12.

Singapore (Platts)–26Feb2014/328 am EST/828 GMT China’s crude oil imports from Iran in January jumped 82.2% year on year to 2.4 million mt, or an average 566,856 b/d, according to final data released by the General Administration of Customs on Wednesday. The imports were also up 11.2% from the December 2013 volumes, the data showed. Iran rose to the fourth place in the list of crude oil suppliers to China in January, from the fifth position in December 2013. The significant year-on-year increase in crude imports from Iran last month was due to a low base in January 2013, when supply from the Middle East country came in at 1.32 million mt — down 36.8% from January 2012. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram News Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, […]

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China’s overall crude imports in January 2014 rose 12% year on year to a record 28.15 million mt, or 6.66 million b/d, according to preliminary customs data that was released on February 12.

Singapore (Platts)–26Feb2014/328 am EST/828 GMT China’s crude oil imports from Iran in January jumped 82.2% year on year to 2.4 million mt, or an average 566,856 b/d, according to final data released by the General Administration of Customs on Wednesday. The imports were also up 11.2% from the December 2013 volumes, the data showed. Iran rose to the fourth place in the list of crude oil suppliers to China in January, from the fifth position in December 2013. The significant year-on-year increase in crude imports from Iran last month was due to a low base in January 2013, when supply from the Middle East country came in at 1.32 million mt — down 36.8% from January 2012. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram News Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, […]

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Nuclear important in Japan's latest draft energy policy

Japan’s government on Tuesday released an energy policy document in which nuclear power is considered an important electricity source. The plan is a toned-down revision of a draft document released in December, which said nuclear power also serves as a "foundation" for the stability of the country’s energy supply, Kyodo News Service reports. The government is required to review its energy plan at least every three years. The last plan, in 2010, called for Japan to boost its reliance on nuclear power to about 50 percent of its total electricity in 2030. Prior to the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, nuclear power provided nearly 30 percent of Japan’s electricity. The plan released Tuesday does not include any numerical targets for Japan’s medium- to long-term energy mix. "It was impossible to plan any energy mix, […]

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Nuclear important in Japan’s latest draft energy policy

Japan’s government on Tuesday released an energy policy document in which nuclear power is considered an important electricity source. The plan is a toned-down revision of a draft document released in December, which said nuclear power also serves as a "foundation" for the stability of the country’s energy supply, Kyodo News Service reports. The government is required to review its energy plan at least every three years. The last plan, in 2010, called for Japan to boost its reliance on nuclear power to about 50 percent of its total electricity in 2030. Prior to the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, nuclear power provided nearly 30 percent of Japan’s electricity. The plan released Tuesday does not include any numerical targets for Japan’s medium- to long-term energy mix. "It was impossible to plan any energy mix, […]

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Chinese man sues government over smog

A Chinese man in a smoggy northern city has become the first person in the country to sue the government for failing to curb air pollution, a state-run newspaper reported on Tuesday. Li Guixin, a resident of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, submitted his complaint to a district court, asking the Shijiazhuang Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau to "perform its duty to control air pollution according to the law," the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily said. He is also seeking compensation from the agency for residents for the choking pollution that has engulfed Shijiazhuang, and much of northern China, this winter. "The reason that I’m proposing administrative compensation is to let every citizen see that amid this haze, we’re the real victims," Li was quoted as saying by the newspaper. It is unclear whether the court will accept Li’s lawsuit. His lawyer, Wu Yufen, declined to comment, telling Reuters, "this information is quite sensitive." The court and the Shijiazhuang environmental protection bureau could not […]

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Water Rationing Begins Outside Malaysia Capital Amid Drought

Water rationing began in areas surrounding Malaysia ’s capital after a prolonged drought, as Selangor state officials sought to wrap up talks to nationalize the local industry. “The supply of raw water in Selangor state is in a critical condition,” Khalid Ibrahim, the state’s chief minister, said in a faxed statement late yesterday. “The water levels at a few dams have been shrinking to reach an alarming stage.” Rationing may also start in parts of Negeri Sembilan, south of Kuala Lumpur, if there is no rain in coming days, the New Straits Times reported today, citing the state’s Chief Minister Mohamad Hasan. Several other states have also reported shortages amid rising concerns over the potential impact on Malaysian palm oil crops if the drought continues. Prime Minister Najib Razak is due to discuss the situation in cabinet tomorrow, including the possibility of cloud-seeding, the official Bernama news service said. […]

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Clouds on the horizon for fracking companies?

The Oil & Gas Journal has published an article with the headline, " Chesapeake mulls spinoff, sale of oil field services division ". The article is especially interesting since Chesapeake is one of the largest companies in fracking. On Chesapeake Energy Corporation’s website one can read that they are the second largest producer of natural gas and the eleventh largest company for production of oil and NGL in the USA. Further, one can read that, “The company’s operations are focused on discovering and developing its large and geographically diverse resource base of unconventional natural gas and oil assets onshore in the U.S. The company also owns substantial marketing, compression and oilfield services businesses.” On 11 February 2014 the company submitted an “Investor presentation” and they explained that they were required to make such “forward-looking statements” by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the […]

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U.S. Issues Emergency Testing Order to Crude Oil Rail Shippers

Federal regulators issued emergency rules Tuesday requiring extensive tests on crude oil moving by rail, concluding the system had become "an imminent hazard to public health and safety and the environment." The order is aimed at operations in one of the U.S.’s booming oil fields, the Bakken Shale in North Dakota, where production has far outpaced the availability of pipelines to move crude to refineries. In just a few years, hundred-car trains full of Bakken oil have started moving through major North American cities—and been involved in several explosive accidents. The Transportation Department said the order is aimed at Bakken crude but will cover shipments from anywhere. While oil is classified as a hazardous material, it isn’t generally linked to explosions. But Bakken crude is more volatile than other oils and is more likely to emit flammable gases, as The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week. The order […]

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Britain's North Sea plan draws mixed reviews

London’s decision to breathe new life into the North Sea was welcomed by the energy sector, though climate fears surfaced given heavy flooding in the country. The British government said it supported recommendations from retired businessman Ian Wood to secure more oil and natural gas reserves from the North Sea. The government expects to secure $330 billion in the next two decades through the recovery of the 3 billion to 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent Wood says is still left in the North Sea. British energy company Dana Petroleum, which last year started a nine-well, $1.6 billion development project in the North Sea, welcomed the decision. Chief Executive Officer Graham Scotton said in a statement Monday the call to change the face of North Sea operations through more efficient use of new and existing infrastructure "is absolutely vital to the industry’s future success, […]

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Britain’s North Sea plan draws mixed reviews

London’s decision to breathe new life into the North Sea was welcomed by the energy sector, though climate fears surfaced given heavy flooding in the country. The British government said it supported recommendations from retired businessman Ian Wood to secure more oil and natural gas reserves from the North Sea. The government expects to secure $330 billion in the next two decades through the recovery of the 3 billion to 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent Wood says is still left in the North Sea. British energy company Dana Petroleum, which last year started a nine-well, $1.6 billion development project in the North Sea, welcomed the decision. Chief Executive Officer Graham Scotton said in a statement Monday the call to change the face of North Sea operations through more efficient use of new and existing infrastructure "is absolutely vital to the industry’s future success, […]

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Accidents Prompt U.S. to Require Tests of Oil on Trains

U.S. energy companies using rail to carry crude must conduct tests to help ensure the oil cargoes won’t explode or eat holes through tank cars after rising train derailments spurred new emergency rules. The order issued yesterday by the U.S. Transportation Department inspired some protests, but mainly confusion as refiners and producers tried to understand what the new requirements will mean to their operations and how broadly they will apply to shipments across the country. “What do you want us to do? What do you want us to test for?” said George Stutzmann, director of supply, trading and business development for oil refiner Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ) “I’m not really sure what this means or what they expect from us,” he said on the sidelines of a conference in Glendale, California , held to discuss the markets for oil by rail. Oil explorers including Continental Resources (CLR) Inc. […]

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Rail Projects Boosting Oil Flow to California Refineries

California , the third-biggest refining state in the U.S., is about to see a flood of oil by rail from places such as Canada and North Dakota as suppliers seek to tap a market isolated from the rest of the country. The western U.S. may bring 500,000 barrels of light oil by rail a day in 2015 as the region’s refiners seek to replace shrinking output in California and Alaska and more costly foreign imports, Mark Smith, Tesoro Corp. (TSO) ’s vice president of development, supply and logistics, said at a conference yesterday. California refineries can run 1.63 million barrels a day, the most in the U.S. after Texas and Louisiana, government data show. The western U.S. has become one of the nation’s most dependent on foreign oil as it lacks pipeline access to crude from shale in the middle of the country. Companies from Alon USA Energy Inc. […]

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U.S.-Canada water talks make KXL 'look silly'

Debates over Canadian oil pipelines are going to "look silly" compared with future U.S-Canadian discussions over water, the Canadian envoy to Washington said. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last year visited Washington make his case for the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Alberta oil fields. TransCanada’s planned pipeline has been the source of heated debate on both sides of the border, though Canadian Ambassador to the United States Gary Doer said future debates will be over fresh water. "I think five years from now we will be spending a lot of our time diplomatically and a lot of our work on dealing with water," he said in an interview with the Edmonton Journal, published Monday. Doer said the United States and Canada have claims to 20 percent of the fresh water in the world in the five Great Lakes and share borders […]

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U.S.-Canada water talks make KXL ‘look silly’

Debates over Canadian oil pipelines are going to "look silly" compared with future U.S-Canadian discussions over water, the Canadian envoy to Washington said. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last year visited Washington make his case for the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Alberta oil fields. TransCanada’s planned pipeline has been the source of heated debate on both sides of the border, though Canadian Ambassador to the United States Gary Doer said future debates will be over fresh water. "I think five years from now we will be spending a lot of our time diplomatically and a lot of our work on dealing with water," he said in an interview with the Edmonton Journal, published Monday. Doer said the United States and Canada have claims to 20 percent of the fresh water in the world in the five Great Lakes and share borders […]

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Daniel Yergin: Looking Back and Forward at Big Trends in Energy

Pulitzer prize-winning author and energy analyst Daniel Yergin kicked off the 2014 MIT Energy Conference Friday by looking back at big changes in the energy landscape since the conference launched in 2006—and ahead at three visions for the future of energy. Dr. Yergin, Vice President of IHS and author of two bestselling books on the history of energy, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power and The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, said much has changed over the last decade in the energy world. From “Peak Oil” to Energy Abundance? “It was the year of Peak Oil,” Yergin said, looking back at 2005, when the MIT Energy Initiative was launched and the first MIT Energy Conference conceived. America and the world were concerned about rising global oil demand […]

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Is Weird Winter Weather Related to Climate Change?

Scientists are trying to understand if the unusual weather in the Northern Hemisphere this winter — from record heat in Alaska to unprecedented flooding in Britain — is linked to climate change. One thing seems clear: Shifts in the jet stream play a key role and could become even more disruptive as the world warms. This winter’s weather has been weird across much of the Northern Hemisphere. Record storms in Europe; record drought in California; record heat in parts of the Arctic, including Alaska and parts of Scandinavia; but record freezes too, as polar air blew south over Canada and the U.S., causing near-record ice cover on the Great Lakes, sending the mercury as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius in Minnesota, and bringing sharp chills to Texas. Everyone is blaming the jet stream, which drives most weather in mid-latitudes. That would be a significant development. For what happens […]

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Can the World Feed China?

Overnight, China has become a leading world grain importer, set to buy a staggering 22 million tons in the 2013–14 trade year, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture projections. As recently as 2006—just eight years ago—China had a grain surplus and was exporting 10 million tons. What caused this dramatic shift? It wasn’t until 20 years ago, after I wrote an article entitled “Who Will Feed China?”, that I began to fully appreciate what a sensitive political issue food security was to the Chinese. The country’s leaders were all survivors of the Great Famine of 1959–61, when some 36 million people starved to death. Yet while the Chinese government was publicly critical of my questioning the country’s ability to feed itself, it began quietly reforming its agriculture. Among other things, Beijing adopted a policy of grain self-sufficiency, an initiative that is now faltering. Since 2006, China’s grain […]

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Tackling food security with a growing population, climate change and peak oil

With a growing population and improving diets there is a need to double our food supply by 2050. Identify three measures you would take to meet this demand. Identify one of your measures from your list and post your solution into the discussion – be prepared to defend your choice! That is a big question to throw in a climate change course. I am presently doing an online course – Climate Change: Challenges and solutions – offered by the University of Exeter (UK). So please indulge me as I also use this blog for some climate course work. This article is for week 6, section 6.5 of the course on ‘Tackling food security’. Food security is one helluva big area to try and come to terms with. Earth’s population is just over 7 billion people. It is projected by the United Nations in a June 2013 report on global […]

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Oil Prices Fall as China Cools, U.S. Warms

Crude-oil prices fell Tuesday in London from near multiweek highs hit in the previous session, as investors were unsettled by signs of a cool-down in China’s red-hot property market and warming temperatures in the U.S. New-home price acceleration in China’s biggest cities showed its first slowdown in a year. This follows indications from banks and developers that lenders are treating the sector with increasing caution amid worries about possible bad loans.  China is a driver for oil-demand growth, and any indication of slowing economic activity there is greeted with caution by investors. Brent crude for April delivery fell 43 cents to $110.21 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were down 75 cents at $102.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Production disruptions in Libya and South Sudan continue to underpin the Brent contract, enabling it to remain just below 2014 highs. Analysts at PVM, […]

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WTI Falls Amid Rising U.S. Crude Supplies; Brent Declines

West Texas Intermediate fell for the third time in four days before a government report forecast to show U.S. crude stockpiles expanded and amid concern consumption in China may falter. Futures in New York dropped as much as 0.9 percent as prices approached a technical level that signals gains may have been excessive. U.S. crude inventories increased for a sixth week to 363.6 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts before Energy Information Administration data tomorrow. Equities in China, the world’s second-largest oil user, plunged the most since July on speculation a weaker property market will crimp growth. “Prices have rallied further than perhaps the underlying supply-demand fundamentals would suggest,” said Hakan Kocayusufpasaoglu, chief investment officer at Archbridge Capital AG, a Zug, Switzerland-based hedge fund. “Demand growth is not phenomenally strong, and emerging markets , which have been the main driver of growth, are slowing down.” […]

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Natural Gas Climbs, Then Retreats in Volatile Trading

Natural gas futures skidded from five-year intraday highs Monday as traders weighed forecasts for colder-than-average weather in the central and eastern U.S. against expectations that warmer spring weather is on its way. Natural gas for March delivery fell 12.5 cents, or 2%, to $6.010 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural-gas prices are up 42% this year, as continued frigid weather has fueled robust demand for indoor heating and eaten away at natural-gas stockpiles. About half of U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel. Prices are expected to be especially volatile leading up to the expiration of the March contract on Wednesday, as physical buyers try […]

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Kurdish gov't takes stake in Miran gas field from Genel Energy

ANKARA, Turkey, Feb. 24 (UPI) — Turkish energy company Genel Energy said Monday the semiautonomous Kurdish government in Iraq was taking a 25 percent interest in the region’s Miran gas field. Genel said the Kurdistan Regional Government exercised its right to take a stake in Miran production. "Accordingly, Genel’s working and paying interests in the Miran production sharing contract will fall from 100 percent to 75 percent, with the KRG’s working and paying interests at 25 percent," the company said in a statement. No financial terms were disclosed The Miran contract area covers 293 square miles and contains gross resources estimated at 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 95 million barrels of oil. Genel said it was working with the Kurdish government on a gas sales agreement for mid-2014. The Kurdish and central Iraqi governments are at odds over who controls what aspects of the energy sector. […]

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Kurdish gov’t takes stake in Miran gas field from Genel Energy

ANKARA, Turkey, Feb. 24 (UPI) — Turkish energy company Genel Energy said Monday the semiautonomous Kurdish government in Iraq was taking a 25 percent interest in the region’s Miran gas field. Genel said the Kurdistan Regional Government exercised its right to take a stake in Miran production. "Accordingly, Genel’s working and paying interests in the Miran production sharing contract will fall from 100 percent to 75 percent, with the KRG’s working and paying interests at 25 percent," the company said in a statement. No financial terms were disclosed The Miran contract area covers 293 square miles and contains gross resources estimated at 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 95 million barrels of oil. Genel said it was working with the Kurdish government on a gas sales agreement for mid-2014. The Kurdish and central Iraqi governments are at odds over who controls what aspects of the energy sector. […]

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Israeli Warplanes Strike Near the Border of Syria and Lebanon

Israeli warplanes launched two raids near the Syrian-Lebanese border late Monday, according to Lebanon ’s National News Agency, raising speculation that Israel might have targeted a weapons convoy to prevent the Syrian government from delivering missiles to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah . Israel has struck Syria at least three times in the past year, according to United States officials, to prevent sophisticated weapons from reaching Hezbollah amid the chaos of Syria ’s war. Neither Syria nor Hezbollah has retaliated. The potential significance of Monday’s strike depended on whether the raids hit Syrian or Lebanese territory, which was not immediately clear. Analysts said it would be politically harder for Hezbollah to refrain from striking back if Israel, its longtime enemy, had struck inside Lebanon. An Israeli strike inside Lebanon would also represent a further escalation in the regional involvement in — and spillover from — the Syrian […]

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Egypt government resigns, paves way for Sisi to seek presidency

Egypt’s government has resigned, the prime minister said on Monday, a step likely to pave the way for army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president of a strategic U.S. ally gripped by political strife. "(The government) made every effort to get Egypt out of the narrow tunnel in terms of security, economic pressures and political confusion," Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said in a live nationwide speech. Beblawi, who was tasked by interim President Adly Mansour with running the government’s affairs until the election, did not give a clear reason for the decision. For Sisi to run for president, he would first need to quit as defense minister. "This (government resignation) was done as a step that was needed ahead of Sisi’s announcement that he will run for president," an Egyptian official told Reuters. He said the cabinet resigned en masse […]

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Nigerian president promises new probe into alleged $20 bil in missing oil revenue

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged that his government will launch a full-scale investigation into the alleged $20 billion in oil export revenue that is missing. Speaking Monday night on a media chat that was broadcast live on state media, Jonathan debunked claims by opposition parties that the suspension of central bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi earlier this month was linked to the latter’s revelation that Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. had failed to remit the $20 billion in oil revenue into the Federation Account. "That [$20 billion] is a lot of money, and I can’t preside over this nation and watch even one kobo go missing from the government treasury," Jonathan said. "I don’t even know the figure to believe as the missing money, whether it is $49.8 billion, $10 or $20 billion. But whatever, even if it is one dollar, we will find […]

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In Venezuela, Protest Ranks Grow Broader

; As dawn broke, the residents of a quiet neighborhood here readied for battle. Some piled rocks to be used as projectiles. Others built barricades. A pair of teenagers made firebombs as the adults looked on. These were not your ordinary urban guerrillas. They included a manicurist, a medical supplies saleswoman, a schoolteacher, a businessman and a hardware store worker. As the National Guard roared around the corner on motorcycles and in an armored riot vehicle, the people in this tightly knit middle-class neighborhood, who on any other Monday morning would have been heading to work or taking their children to school, rushed into the street, hurling rocks and shouting obscenities. The guardsmen responded with tear gas and shotgun fire, leaving a man bleeding in a doorway. […]

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Venezuela Could Force Oil Market to Take Stock

The oil market has lived in interesting times for so long it could do with a weekend off. This one wasn’t it. Ukraine dominated headlines, but in terms of oil output it is an irrelevance. Libya and Venezuela loom much larger. It wasn’t meant to be like this. Coming into 2014, the International Energy Agency was projecting oil supply outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to rise by 1.7 million barrels a day against global demand growth of 1.3 million a day. That excess should have meant rising inventories and spare OPEC capacity, pushing down prices. Instead, after initial weakness, Brent crude is back above $110 a barrel. The impetus for this has come not from riots in Caracas or even rising demand from emerging markets. Rather, demand for oil in the industrialized world increased, bucking the trend of recent years. That was partly due to […]

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Venezuela Opposition Cancels Maduro Talks as Unrest Grows

Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles today pulled out of talks with President Nicolas Maduro after the death toll from protests rose to 13 and both sides traded insults over the weekend. Maduro last week called on governors to meet at the presidential palace in Caracas today for talks, warning there would be legal consequences for skipping. Capriles said Feb. 22 he would attend while demanding the government free opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who was imprisoned last week on charges of inciting violence at rallies. “How do I go amid the repression, amid the violation of human rights,” Capriles, a two-time presidential hopeful and currently a state governor, told reporters in Caracas today. “The presidential palace is not the place for dialog in the country.” The talks were scheduled after two weeks of unrest that have claimed the lives of 13 people, according to […]

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Venezuela death toll rises to 13 as protests flare

Anti-government demonstrators put up barricades and set fire to trash in Caracas on Monday despite calls from within the opposition to rein in protests that have led to 13 deaths in Venezuela’s worst unrest for a decade. Traffic in the capital slowed to a crawl and many people stayed home as protesters burned trash and piled debris along main avenues a day after opposition leader Henrique Capriles called on them to keep demonstrations peaceful. "We know we’re bothering people but we have to wake up Venezuela!" student Pablo Herrera, 23, said next to a barricade in the affluent Los Palos Grandes district of Caracas. Authorities in the convulsed border state of Tachira confirmed another death: a man who fell from his second-storey apartment after being hit by a bullet from a nearby protest. The demonstrations are the biggest challenge to President Nicolas Maduro’s 10-month-old government, though […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nuclear should be Japan's key baseload power source, govt report says

Nuclear power should serve as Japan’s "key base-load power source" along with coal, hydro and renewables as part of the country’s energy plan for the next 20 years, the government said in a final energy policy plan released Tuesday. In the final report which came out after a series of reviews, the government also said nuclear reactors that meet the safety standards set by the nuclear regulatory body should make progress on restarting. Before this final report, an energy policy committee at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released a draft plan in December saying nuclear power would continue to be Japan’s "key base power source" from the perspective of stable supplies and cost, drawing comments from the public as well as policy makers. The plan released Tuesday will now be examined by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party before the Cabinet approval. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nuclear should be Japan’s key baseload power source, govt report says

Nuclear power should serve as Japan’s "key base-load power source" along with coal, hydro and renewables as part of the country’s energy plan for the next 20 years, the government said in a final energy policy plan released Tuesday. In the final report which came out after a series of reviews, the government also said nuclear reactors that meet the safety standards set by the nuclear regulatory body should make progress on restarting. Before this final report, an energy policy committee at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released a draft plan in December saying nuclear power would continue to be Japan’s "key base power source" from the perspective of stable supplies and cost, drawing comments from the public as well as policy makers. The plan released Tuesday will now be examined by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party before the Cabinet approval. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Wells That Fizzle Are a ‘Potential Show Stopper’ for the Shale Boom

The oil patch needs more brain for its brawn. The reason is enough to give pause to anyone enjoying the benefits of cheap, abundant energy produced in the U.S. New wells are fizzling out in their first year, threatening the 3-year-old oil boom. The challenge is forging alliances between two groups who previously rarely needed to work eyeball to eyeball — the people who know rocks and the people who poke holes in rocks. Halliburton engineer Ron Dusterhoft, who was charged with marshaling a SWAT team of experts to tackle the problem, can now see a solution using artificial intelligence software dubbed Cypher. One Texas well that the team studied for months should have been drilled deeper, at a different slope, to really hit the sweet spot for oil. More from the report Gas Boom: America for Shale : "A lot of these wells aren’t performing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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TransCanada sees no Keystone XL delay from Nebraska court’s ruling

TransCanada Corp. does not expect a Nebraska court’s decision to affect the US Department of State’s consideration of the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project’s cross-border permit application, the Calgary company said. It said Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning’s (R) immediate appeal effectively stayed Lancaster County, Neb., District Judge Stephanie F. Stacy’s Feb. 19 decision. She ruled that 2012 legislation giving Gov. Dave Heineman (R) the power to approve a new route for the project was unconstitutional under state law ( OGJ Online, Feb. 20, 2014 ). “As we said last week, this latest development concerning Keystone XL is a solvable problem and we are undeterred,” a TransCanada spokesman said on Feb. 24. “We have dealt with many issues related to this project in the past and are confident we can overcome this latest hurdle,” he said, adding, “It is our view the current 90-day national interest determination […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New York Harbor ethanol prices soar amid anxiety over logistics, supply

New York Harbor ethanol prices soared Monday morning amid a cluster of mounting logistics issues and concerns over supply, sources said. NYH ethanol for prompt delivery skyrocketed from an early morning bid reported at $2.58/gal all the way up to a bid last heard at $2.85/gal before offers dried up. Meanwhile, the spread between March and April product — which was assessed at 27 cents Friday, up from 3 cents on Thursday — skyrocketed to trade as high as 37 cents. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Biofuelscan Platts Biofuelscan is a daily report, covering the latest worldwide biofuel news and prices. It provides a daily summary of market events and developments, along with closing market price assessments from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Platts Biofuelscan includes prices assessmenst for ethanol, ETBE, renewal indentification number (RIN) biofuels (US market0 and biodiesel. It […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pennsylvania fracking-related jobs numbers questioned

Facing a daunting re-election year, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has been touting his all-out support for natural gas drilling as a job creator in his state. But economists and environmentalists are questioning his claim that the industry props up more than 200,000 Pennsylvania jobs. They say that the governor’s administration has greatly inflated the number and that it may be getting lower every day. A new analysis by The Allentown Morning Call  newspaper and published Monday indicates that growth in the industries associated with drilling in the Marcellus Shale — one of the country’s main areas for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — fell by 29 percent from 2010 to 2013. There are now just under 30,000 that can directly be linked to the Marcellus. Industry supporters say that the decline is a temporary fluctuation and that ancillary jobs created and supported by shale gas development — including ones in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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GOP upbeat on Keystone XL pipeline prospects

Republican governors said they had assurances from President Barack Obama a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada will be made by the summer. Obama met Monday with representatives from the Republican Governors Association behind closed doors at the White House. The state leaders said Obama gave them an update on TransCanada’s pipeline planned from Alberta oil fields. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin was quoted by online news agency Politico as saying after the meeting the president "anticipates an answer one way or the other in a couple months." Texas Gov. Rick Perry was quoted as saying Obama was "going to approve the [Keystone] XL pipeline" TransCanada submitted an application for Keystone XL more than five years ago. It needs federal consent as a cross-border pipeline and Obama said he’d weigh the project against its environmental footprint. Pipeline opponents say the more viscous grade […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Mississippi Oil Spill Highlights Risk of U.S. Oil Boom

A barge crash that spilled enough oil to temporarily shut a stretch of the Mississippi River highlights the transportation risks of the U.S. energy boom just as regulators respond to several rail accidents involving crude. A 65-mile portion of the river about 50 miles (80 kilometers) upstream from New Orleans reopened with restrictions yesterday as federal and state officials responded to a Feb. 22 spill, which stalled shipments of goods including grain and chemicals on the nation’s busiest waterway. “We’re facing the imminent risk of a barge disaster or a rail disaster” as more oil is shipped to the Gulf of Mexico for refining, Jonathan Henderson, a spokesman for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, said by phone after attending a meeting with U.S. Coast Guard officials. A surge in U.S. oil production, reflecting in part advances in drilling techniques, has unlocked millions of barrels of oil from geologic […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP's ready for new U.S. energy contracts, official says

British energy company BP is close to getting relief from a 2012 ban on new oil contracts secured through the U.S. government, a company official said. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency barred BP from bidding on new contracts after the company pleaded guilty to environmental crimes in a major 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. John Minge, president of BP’s subsidiary in the United States, told investors in Louisiana things were about to change, the Daily Telegraph in London reported Saturday. "We’re working with the Environmental Protection Agency. I think we’re getting closer to an agreement," he was quoted as saying. BP wasn’t prohibited from working on existing contracts in the region. In December, the company said it was appraising a discovery in the Gila prospect in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, its first since the 2010 spill. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP’s ready for new U.S. energy contracts, official says

British energy company BP is close to getting relief from a 2012 ban on new oil contracts secured through the U.S. government, a company official said. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency barred BP from bidding on new contracts after the company pleaded guilty to environmental crimes in a major 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. John Minge, president of BP’s subsidiary in the United States, told investors in Louisiana things were about to change, the Daily Telegraph in London reported Saturday. "We’re working with the Environmental Protection Agency. I think we’re getting closer to an agreement," he was quoted as saying. BP wasn’t prohibited from working on existing contracts in the region. In December, the company said it was appraising a discovery in the Gila prospect in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, its first since the 2010 spill. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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AAA reports steady rise in U.S. gasoline prices

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States rose nearly 2 percent in the past week, AAA said Monday. The national average was $3.41 per gallon, up from the $3.35 reported for Feb. 17, AAA said. Montana had the lowest state average, $3.14, while California had the highest, $3.79, for the Lower 48. A dozen states reported an average price higher than $3.50 per gallon. The national average price one month ago was $3.28, though Monday’s average price is nearly 50 cents cheaper than the same time last year. AAA said regional refineries are preparing for regular seasonal maintenance, which is expected to lead to higher gasoline prices. The auto club said it may be April before drivers see prices start to decline. The American Petroleum Institute said last week demand for gasoline in January was 1.1 percent […]

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Harsh weather tests optimism over U.S. economy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Unusually cold weather will take a bite out of U.S. economic growth this quarter, but a rebound seems likely on the horizon and expectations for stronger growth this year have not changed. Economists estimate that freezing temperatures and the ice and snow storms that have blanketed much of the nation will shave as much as half a percentage point from gross domestic product in the first quarter. That comes on top of the drag from efforts by businesses to sell off bloated inventories and a one-time hit from the expiration of benefits for the long-term unemployed. "The slowdown is testing everyone’s optimism about the economy, but so far it’s just a soft patch. The economy will regain strength," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester Pennsylvania. "Outside housing, we don’t believe the recent data signal a change in fundamentals." Moody’s Analytics […]

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Can Austin survive the current Texas drought? Part 1

drought map There is sound science that says there is likely to be big trouble, even in supplying Austin’s current population with enough water. Federal officials have designated portions of 11 drought-ridden Western and Central states as primary natural disaster areas. Map from UDSA.gov. Image from NBCDFW.com. First of three . I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: `My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that […]

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